Register control and signal for web presses



2 Sheets-Sheet l April 24, 1951 Filed July 10, 1947 INVENTOR. EMORY W; WORTHINGTON GEORGE J. SCHOWERE'R by M April 24, 1951 E. w. WORTHINGTON ET AL 25 3 REGISTER CONTROL AND SIGNAL FOR WEB PRESSES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 10, 1947 INVENTOR. EMORY W. WORTHINGTON GEORGE J. SCHOWERER i. There .are

Patented Apr. 24,1951 p REGISTER CONTROL AND SIGNAL WEB PRESSES FOB Emory W. Worthington, Upper Montclair, and M George; J. vSchcwer'er, Englewood, N. .J,, assignore to Champlain Company, Incl, B10omfieldi, 'N."J.,,a corporation of New York Application July 11.0, 1947, Senia11No.7.60,090

V Thisinvention relates to} mechanism for re istering multipleoperations on a single web.;, A ;most common exampleis multicolor printing.

There are many cases in which multiple operations on a single web must be properly registered. Multicolor ,printingis :a common example, but in other cases machines for cutting, slitting, periorating, applying adhesive, or otherwise acting on-a Web, may be used in combination withone another or/and incombination with single-color Ior multicolor printin presses. in the present specification, all such units are intended to be covered by the expressionffweb presses and the like? i I V I v .two well-known methods of controllingregister. One isby the use of a compensator roller which increases or decreases the amount of web between'the units of the com- "pl'e'tev machine, I'thereby' mncng it possible to correct. errors in registration. The other is-by theuse .of igearin'g in the drive to the printing "cylinder or other unit. "Cjrdinari1y, diflerential gearing is employed, and in addition toan input shaftand an output shaft, there is a third shaft .which feeds a corrective movement into apart of thediiferential gearing, thereby modifying the position ofthe output shaftrelative tojthelinput shaft. (Such. an arrangement is commonly .re- "ierredfto"as'a;running register.. .jWhile' the registration .may vbe corrected .by-

usingeontrol devices locally, atleach of ,thelunits,

"it is 'far lm'ore convenient to ;lccate all oi the con"- trol devices near one another .at. the de1ivery or Toutputendof vthe machine sothat the finished .product'may beexaminedfor errors, and appropriate? corrective movement introduced. :For r-this purpose, manually operated mechanical means have been employed, for example, hand-wheels with appropriate .shafts and gearing running back to theindividualunits. However, it has been difficult to estimate the necessary correctionbecause of the lost motion-r backlashbetween the hand-Wheel and the remote mechanism controlled thereby. Itis important tobe able to closely estimate the amount which the incorrect unit is -advanced ior retarded; because .each time a change'ismade the soperator must wait .for a considerable period lot ,timeauntil the complete series-of machines settles -ldownwto a .new, steady operatingycondition;;b,efore examiningthe product toas'certain thezneed for further correction. f; 4 I

In more modern equipment, the corrective movement at the units is usually aaecemplish'ed thy means @i small, -reversible.-electric motors. In

such case the :correction is-cohtrclled byipressing either or two switchvbuttona one .for advancin and theother for retarding the operation at the unit. -'Ihe.arnount of correctionibeing introduced isestimated by the timeorduration of operation of the motor, but thatwis not a good indication of the amount of correction actually introduced,

,because of various factors .such' as lost motion in the ,gear reduction mechanism; change in speedof .the motor depending on the line voltage existing at the particular moment; or for other reasons having to do the condition f the motor. lvioreover, in the ,case of ;-a cempensator to overcome.the.forego'i-rig difificultnand to melee possible .a more rapidregistry betweenecolors gr teller hic must be raised 9 lo e e th -snen of ,movement in the lowering direction gma y t-be taster than that in the rising -direction, because none case gravity aids :thernovernent of the rollenlwhile in 'the other .oase itopposes the ment- I'. :.i s q The primary .obje'ctof .thespresent inventionlis other land todo' this regardless of whether, a second co'rrectionis in opposite direejtionto the precedingcorrection, with consequent lost Jmo'tion', vand.jregardles''s (or :changes in line Volta e, etch I ,A more specific object is to provide means .ffor measuring or indicating the ,actual corrective movement at the unit being-corrected, in'contra- .distinction to the movement introduced at the controLdeVice, and inclependently'of the correc- ,Qtion time-when using a;-motorized .compensating means.

. The invention .is applicableto control devices localized ,at thedifferent pressnnits. or thcllilge,

but in accordance with arfilrther feature anidrohject -;:of :the invention, ,we prefer to vlocalize all of the controls and associated "indicators at :one

focal point.

Sti11-another object ofzthe inuentionis to apply the same :to register ;c;ontr o1 :mechanism ;:of 'both the. compensator .rolleritypeand the .=di-fte.rential gear or running register'type. a A

To accomplish the ;foregoing objects, ;a;n d

-otherswhich will hereinafter:appeanpurjnyentain resides ting the register-control'and indicator elements and theirrrelation one to :t-he 1 other ware hereinafter more particularly-described in @the following specification. The'spec-ification is ,accompaniedby. drawings in -whichz V Fig. 1 is aside elevation of a multicolor-- ,print .ing .press embodying features-pi the present sin- M o h. i I r :track 46.

V Fig. 7 shows one of the controland signal pan els forming a part of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Fig. 1, we there show-a five-color gra-.

vure cylinder printing press. The web issupplied from a reel I2. A second supplyreel 1s shown at I4 for use in alternation with the reel I2. The web runs through a suitable feed unit I6, from which it is supplied to the color presses I8, 20, 22, 24 and 26. The units are substantially press the web is run under a compensator roller 44. This is arranged for vertical movement, as is schematically indicated by the vertical support roller 48 and the compensating roller 44 is negligible, consequently the raising or lowering of roller 44 is substantially equal to the lengthening or shortening of the web between the units of the press. The presses 20, 22 and 24 are similarly provided with compensator rollers 56, 52

and 54, respectively. "No compensator roller is *needed following the press 26, when, as in the present case, the web'is simply rewound, as indicated at 56. However, if the press is followed by a unit performing another operation on the compensator rollers 44, 50, 52 and 54 are each raised or lowered under drive of 'a reversible electric motor, the motors being controlled by suitable push-buttons preferably located remotely from the press units, and preferably I calized at the output end of the press, as is indicated by the panel board 60.

Panel board 60 has four push-button and signal units, one for each of the compensator rollers. Fig. '7 shows one of these units, and referring to that figure, it will be seen that each unit has a push-button 90 for Advance, and a, push-button 92 for Retard, and a signal, in this case a lamp 94. The lamp may be used as an approximate measure of the amount of register correction being introduced. For this purpose, the lamp is normally occulted, but flashes briefly in response to uniform increments of movement of the compensator roller, so-that the number of flashes of the lamp may be used as an approximate measure of the register correction introduced. 7

Fig.- 2, although schematic, is sufliciently explanatory of the application of the invention to 4 a compensator roller. The web 62 is shown passing around a compensator roller 64, the latter being carried in bearings 66 which are vertically slidable on guides or ways 68. The elevation of the roller is determined by lead-screws I0 which are threadedly received in the bearings 66. The

lead-screws are rotated simultaneously by means of a suitable reversing electric motor I2 and speed reducer I3, said motor driving a shaft I4 geared by means of suitable bevel gearing I6 to the lead-screws I0. As so far described, the compensating mechanism may be wholly conventional.

Now in accordance with the present invention, a movable component causing the compensation is employed to also cause a signal, which acts The change in distance between the n .as a measure of the amount of correction being introduced. In the present case the theoretically ideal movable component would be the bearings 66, but for reasons which will appear later, it is not very convenient to employ the bearings. The next best component would be the leadscrew Ill, and in many cases that may be used, but in the particular apparatus here shown we have employed the shaft I4. In other words, the shaft I4 is the movable component nearest to the compensator roller to which the invention may be most conveniently applied. A cam is mounted on shaft I4 and actuates a switch 82 which causes a signal, which in turn may be used as a measure of the amount of register correction being introduced.

The speed at which the lamp flashes is preferably made slow enough to be easy to Watch, but rapid enough to accommodate small adjustments. We have found that a speed of say flashes a minute is satisfactory. Thus, if the shaft I4 has a speed of say thirty revolutions per minute, the cam 80 is provided with four lifts, in order to produce four flashes per revolution of the shaft. The motor I2 may operate at a much'higher speed of say 1800 R. P. M., but the speed reducer I3 brings that down to 30 R. P. M. For ordinary commercial printing, a

correction to an accuracy of say three or four thousandths of an inch, is entirely acceptable.

The flashes of the lamp-may be made to correspond to the desired accuracy of registration, or to a multiple thereof, and the operator, on

seeing a departure from registration, estimates changes in line voltage, or from a difference in speed when raising or lowering the compensator roller, are also eliminated.

In many cases the compensator motors may be three-phase motors operated from a conventional three-phase line, and we have applied our invention to such an arrangement. However, a simpler, single-phase circuit is shown in Fig. 3, for purposes of illustration, and referring to that figure, it will be seen that the motor I66 is a three-wire, single-phase capacitor type of motor having a field winding I02 which is energized when switch button I04 is pressed, and a field winding I66 which is energized when switch button I08 is pressed. The fields have a common connection I I0, and power is supplied on lines I I2 and H4.

3 The signal switch and signal lamp may be energized through a separate supply circuit, but we respectively.

aste -ere zpr efer to connect thesame th mam'pcsnbuttoh eontrm circuit, beause We pr-efer to even --th'e possibility of the signal-lampremaining 1a. -'-I-'rue, the cam will usu'ally have shorter-rises than are shown in Fig. 3, and there is not-much likelihood 'of the corrective movement being terminated atthe particular instant when the lamp is lighted, and even if that were to occur, it

would be necessary merely to press the switch lq i-ittc n,momentarily to cause such slight addifc'iiit at a point betweenthemotor and "the contr'ol switches I04, and I08, so that the lamp can Sbe lighted only while acontrol switchfs closed.

In the "present case, the'lamp'is='eriergized through 'a transformer .I I8,.the primary of which isconnected in series with a microswitch I20 operated' by cam I22. Theswitch and transformer are connected across one field of the motor, but the lamp is lighted regardless of which field is energized, because some energy is transferred through the capacitor I24.

A preferred form of the invention is schematically shown in Fig. 4. In this case the invention isapplied to a running register. fed from either reel I30 or I32 through a feed unit I34 and thence to printing press units I36, I38, I40, I42 and I44, from which the printed web is rewound at a reel I46. The feed unit I34 is driven by motor I48. The presses are driven bya motor I50 operating througha suitable multigroove pulley drive I52 to a line shaft I54. This shaft is common to all of the printing units, and drives the same in synchronism. However, the connection between the shaft I54 and each of the printing units includes differential gear units I56, I58, I60, I62 and IE4 respectively. A corrective movement may be fed into the differential gearing manually, but we prefer to employ small reversing motors schematically indicated at I66, I68, I10, I12 and I14,

One formof differential gearing fora running register of the character set forth, is shown in -'--pen'sater mechanisin is conventional, but in etcordance with the present invention-a cam -2I (Fig-v) is mounted on shaft 202 and operates arri icroswitch 2I2. The latter in "turn-operates a suitable signal, typically a lamp as previously described. It will be understood that i'n the presentcase, theshaftZ 0-2 is the movable component, closest to the ring gear I98 causing the correctioh, which is conveniently'available and which has adequate speed for best operation of the sig- ;na1 lam By locating the cam on shaft 202-, all "batklash or {lost motion in the speed reducer B and in the gearing 20s is eliminated, as -we11 pr blems attendant uponcnanges inline voltage, etc.

It win be understood that the motors 1 66 "thriu'gh n 4 in Fig. l correspond to the -Ihotor204 shown in-Eig .-5, 'and'thatthe said mo- Paper is Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawing, but the showing is schematic, and it will be understood that any of the known forms of running register maybe employed. In said figures, the line shaft is shown at I54, and through a worm I80 drives a worm gear I82 which in turn causes a sun gear I84 to rotate. This drives planet. gears I86, which in turn drive planet gears I88, the gears I86 and I88 being at least slightly different in diameter. The gears I88 mesh with a sun gear I90 which in turn drives shaft [92v and flange I94 for connection to the printing cylinder. The planet gears I86 and I88 are carried by a housing I96 which is itself rotatable, said housing having a ring of gear teeth I98 meshing with a worm 200 turned by a shaft 202. It will be understood that by feeding corrective motion into the differential gearing by rotation of shaft 202, the position of the printing cylinder driven by flange I94 will be changed relative to the position of the line shaft I54, so that any one of the printing cylinders may be varied in registration relative to the others, even though all of them are driven synchronously by a common line shaft I54. In Fig. 5, it will be seen that the compensator shaft 202 is driven by a reversing motor 204 through a speed reducer 206.

,As so far described, the running register comtorsare controlled "by advance and retard pushbuttons associated with signal lamps, just as was described in connection with Figs. 1, 3 and '1, except that in the present case there would be five sets of push-buttons and signal lamps.

The microswitch used is preferably a sealed or explosion-proof microswitch, because of the highly volatile nature of the ink sometimes used in multi-color gravure printing.

If the compensator motor is a D.-C. motor, and if it be desired to make the operation of the signal lamp dependent upon energization of the motor, .the lamp may be connected to both sides of the motor circuit through a relatively high resistance, so that operation of either side of the motor circuit (advance or retard) will energize the lamp circuit. There then will be no possibility offlthe lamp remaining lighted when the motor is not in use, regardless of the position at which the cam happens to stop at the end of the corrective movement.

It is believed that theconstruction and operation, as well as the advantages of our improved register control forweb presses and the like, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. Signal pulses, which may be audible, but which we prefer to make visual because of the noise in a press room, correspond to the amount of correction actually introduced, measured at a point as near as possible to the component being moved for the correction. Uniform increments of movement of the selected movable component cause flashes of the lamp, so that the number of flashes may be used as a fairly accurate measure of the amount of register correction being introduced. Thus, on each correction the operator comes as closely as possible 'to the proper amount, so that the number of trial and error corrections needed is minimized. This is important because the operator must wait a substantial time after each correction, for the apparatus to settle down into a uniform state of operation which will propertly reflect the condiregister of two presses or the like operating on .a-moving single continuous web, a control, device for causing rotation of said shaft when desired, and means responsive to the actual resulting rotation of said shaft for causing a signal which vmay be used as an approximate measure of the amount of register correction being introduced by the control device.

2. Register control mechanism for web presses and the like driven through differential gearing including a shaft which introduces corrective -,movement into the differential gearing for running register, said shaft serving to correct the register of two presses or the like operating on a moving single continuous web, an intermittently usable control device for causing rotation of said 1 shaft when desired in order to correct the register, a signal lamp circuit, and a cam-operated switch responsive to uniform increments of the actual resulting rotation of said shaft for causing flashes of thelamp the number of which flashes 'may be used as; an approximate measure of the amount of register correction being introduced.

EMORY W. WORTHINGTON. GEORGE J. SCHOWERER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Lieberherr Mar. 29, 1949 

